Tale as Old as Time
by Erava
Summary: 30 years ago, a curse was placed on Vincent Valentine and all who were in his mansion. Now, can the girl he meets be the one to break the spell? Beauty and the Beast, Yuffentine style! Rated for language, mentions of abuse, and snippets of SephZackCloud.
1. Prologue

I have ascertained that as a fanfic-writing fangirl, I must have at least one ongoing multi-chapter story to work on. So, here's the prologue. If you like it, review for more.

Just so you know, the first few chapters are going to be pretty slow moving. And it won't be sticking to the precise plot of the Disney version very much. For example, I've casted Rufus as Gaston in my head, but he won't be a crazy, homicidal bastard that tries to kill people just to marry some chick that he likes. And there's more than one candle. And Vinny isn't going to be furry with anger management problems. And...well, I'll let you see on your own.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Final Fantasy VII or Beauty and the Beast. I only own the idea to sorta mesh them together. I gain nothing from this but satisfaction. So fuck off, lawyers.

* * *

_Once upon a time, there was a young man of noble lineage. He lived in a grand mansion with no company but that of his servants, several miles from the nearest town. On one of his journeys into the village, he met a woman with whom he fell deeply in love. From that day onward, he went to see her every day. He brought her gifts; anything she desired, he would give to her. He would have given her his own life, if only for the sake of her happiness._

_But it was all in vain, for he did not know that she was engaged to be married to the mayor's son, a proud, arrogant young man that held himself above all others. When she told him, intending to invite him to the wedding, he was heartbroken, angry, betrayed, and refused to go. For all her deception, she did not want him to miss her wedding, so she arranged it to be held in the courtyard outside his home._

_The day of the ceremony was a bright one. Throngs of people crowded around the newlyweds. The couple was ecstatic, blissful. No one cared enough to notice the lone figure watching from the mansion's window._

_The young man's cold, blood red gaze never left the form of the bride. There was no feeling in his heart, save the ache of emptiness and sorrow._

_That night, there was a great storm. Thunder boomed, lightning crashed, rain poured down in sheets._

_An old crone, clothed in a tattered cloak, came to the mansion seeking shelter and a place to stay for the night. She offered nothing in return but a single, budding rose. The young man, feeling no sympathy, turned her away._

_In that moment, the woman's rags melted away to be replaced by a shimmering gown, and her ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress. She had judged the man to have no love in his heart, and so transformed the young man into a hellish fiend, and cursed every living creature on the grounds._

_The rose, she said, would bloom until the day a human from the town came to visit the mansion. When that day came, it would begin to wilt. If he could find love before the last petal fell, the spell would be broken._

_But if not, he and all those in the household would be doomed to remain as they were for all eternity._

* * *

Well, there you have it. Prologue. Yay.

P.S. I know it's not said, or even implied, but Aerith is the enchantress, at least in my head. You know, roses, flowers, flower girl, Aerith? You don't need to know this to get the story, but it's nice to have people understand what's going on in my head when I write these things.

**Now, review if you want the first chapter. If you don't, I'm going to assume that you hated it and thought it was crap, and I won't even bother writing any more.**


	2. Little Town

_**Chapter 1: Little Town...  
**_

_Little town, it's a quiet village... _

It was only an hour or so after dawn had broken, but the small town of Nibelheim was already at its busiest.

_Every day like the one before... _

Everywhere, people went about their daily routines, lining up by the street vendors, haggling for food and supplies. Merchants shouted advertisements for the same goods they had sold yesterday, loudly claiming theirs to be the best of all.

_Little town, full of little people... _

Among the throngs of bright or fair-haired folk, a young girl with raven black hair stood out. She clung to be back of a chocobo-drawn carriage, on the lookout for something. After turning the corner, she smiled brightly, hopped off the fast-moving carriage as easily as one would step off a curb, and strode into a small store.

_Waking up to say... _

"Heya, Zangan!"

The shopkeeper, a man in his mid-thirties with the same dark hair and angular features, looked up and grinned widely. "Well, if it isn't my favorite customer!" He finished positioning a seven-foot long blade in the display window and returned her warm embrace.

The young girl looked around excitedly. "Got anything new, or is it just same old, same old, huh?"

Zangan smiled. "Remember how you asked about the three heroes last time?" After her confirmation, he continued. "I believe I have something that might help you with that mystery." He rummaged around behind the counter and pulled out -

"A book?" She stared incredulously. "You _know _I can't finish a book to save my life!"

He laughed, and then was serious. "This book records most of the travels of the three warriors. Some say it was written by Sephiroth himself."

The girl was instantly attentive. "_Seriously? _Where'd he find time to write, in between killing things and destroying entire armies single-handedly?"

Zangan laughed again. "Who knows? Here." He passed the book to her, watching as she stared at it reverently. "You can keep it."

She looked up in shock. "B-but, it's gotta be worth, like -"

He shook his head. "I have no need for it. Something tells me you'll find it interesting." He smiled at her frantic thanks. "Now, out with you!"

Yuffie grinned. "Sure thing, sensei!" she called as she skipped merrily out the door.

* * *

Across town, Rufus Shinra, vice president (and son of the president) of the largest and wealthiest worldwide trading company, was reading a letter from his father, who was on a business venture in far-away Wutai. With each word he read, his expression darkened a little more. Upon reaching the end, he folded the letter into a perfect hang-glider and launched it into the fire, watching his father's words burn with a grim satisfaction.

Reno, a Turk, or hired bodyguard/assassin, cocked an eyebrow. "Trouble, boss? Or just the old man being an asshole as always?"

This caused a small smile, though the bitterness was still there. "Father has requested that I seek out a bride."

The Turk nodded. "That ain't so bad. Just pick up some chick on the street. They all worship the dust you kick up anyway."

"A _certain_ bride."

Curiosity. Did he care how many cats it had killed? No. A Turk's curiosity was insatiable. "Huh, really? Who?"

Rufus ignored the question. "Grab your coat, Reno. We're going out."

* * *

Yuffie sat down at the fountain, ignoring all the stares she was getting. It was only to be expected. She was one of three Wutains in the entire town, and the only female Wutain. Nibelheim was a small, isolated place, and anything new was regarded with either great suspicion or viewed with great curiosity. And, in the case of the younger men, lust. Though, in her opinion, she wasn't nearly as beautiful as the native Nibel women, her exotic background made her the target of many roving eyes. She didn't mind terribly, but the men here were so _cocky. _Like every one of them thought they were the center of the universe. Yuffie wanted someone that could deal with her constant seeking of excitement, which meant no one in Nibelheim, no matter how sexy they came.

She flipped open the book and stared at the picture in the inside cover. There stood three men. The two on either side both had gravity defying hair, one black and one blonde, the blond one a little younger-looking than the other. The man in the middle had long, silver hair that reached at least to his knees, with startling green eyes and an air of power about him. She started rethinking her previous thoughts. _Wow..._

The clock chimed, startling her out of her awed reverie. It was already nine?! "Shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT!" Yuffie jumped to her feet and ninja-d her way through the crowd, breaking through and making a mad dash for her house.

* * *

Rufus stared grimly toward the mass of people, waiting just enough off to the side to appear casual. Reno fidgeted at his side. "Wow, this chick must be hot if you're waiting this long," he attempted to joke.

The young vice president laughed bitterly. "You know what they say. The prettiest women are the hardest to get." He scowled darkly. "This one in particular."

Reno made another attempt. "Um, yeah, so _who _is this again?"

His charge's expression suddenly settled into his cocky, charismatic mask that he always wore in public, his eyes fixed on someone breaking out of the crowd. The Turk followed his gaze to find a young, scantily clad Wutain girl that was sprinting toward them at top speed.

Rufus strode into her path confidently. "Hello, Miss Kisaragi."

Yuffie stopped abruptly to avoid crashing into him and looked up to meet his eyes in surprise. "Um, hey, Rufus." Only the sense of decorum that had been roughly beaten into her by both her "father" and teacher kept her from making a run for it. _Ew, ew, ew, Rufus fucking Shinra. Dammit. _

He smiled politely, though it came out as more of a confident smirk. "Would you like to take a walk with me? Perhaps it would help you relax. You do seem oddly rushed."

Yuffie blinked. This was unexpected. Everyone hit on her at one point or another, but _Rufus? _This was a new one. How on earth was she supposed to turn down possibly the second-most powerful man in the world, _and _be polite about it? "Um, maybe another day. I am kinda in a hurry." _'Maybe another day'? Dammit, now he'll think I'm offering!_ She tried to edge around him.

Rufus seemed perplexed. "Oh? What's the rush?" he asked, blocking her way again.

Her mind reeled. What the hell was going on? "Um, I gotta get back home to help my old man, you know?"

At this, Reno snorted in derision. "Ha! That crazy old guy with his rockets and tea?"

Yuffie's expression changed from one of cautious politeness to fury in a split second. "_Do NOT _talk about him like that!"

At the same time, Rufus elbowed the Turk sharply, though his eyes were laughing. "Shut _up_, Reno."

The young girl glared furiously at both of them. "I'll have you know that that 'crazy old guy' could kick your asses any day!"

**_BOOM! _**

As if on cue, there was a loud explosion from the small residence behind them. Yuffie spun around in shock. "Oh, _shit!_" she yelled, as she ran for the house.

Rufus and Reno both waited until she was out of earshot before bursting into hysterical laughter.

* * *

Yuffie opened the door to the basement, only to be met with a torrent of smoke. "Old man!" she called, coughing violently. "Hey, old man!"

As the smoke cleared, she was able to see the mechanic better, soot blackening his face, a scowl adorning his face. "I'm only fuckin' 32, goddamit! I _ain't that old!_"

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever." Her expression turned concerned. "You okay? What happened?"

At this, he broke into a huge grin. "It worked! That's what fuckin' happened!"

Her eyes widened. "Seriously?!"

The mechanic nodded and pushed himself up to his feet proudly. "Hell yeah it did, or my name ain't Cid Highwind!"

Yuffie squealed and propelled herself into his arms for a hug. "Awesome! Now you can make a million of 'em and sell them and be totally famous and rich and stuff and oh my _GOD _I'm so happy!"

Cid rolled his eyes and patted her on the head. "Yeah, yeah, now straighten up, kid. You're the fuckin' princess of Wutai, remember?"

She sighed and pulled away. "Yeah, thanks for reminding me," she grumbled. After a moment of thought, she spoke up again. "Wait a sec, maybe that's why Shinra was all flirty and stuff!"

The mechanic looked up from the half-assembled missile he was working on. "Huh? Fuckin' _Shinra _was hittin' on ya today?" He gawked and shook his head when she confirmed it. "Coulda sworn the guy was a fruit."

Yuffie chuckled. Then frowned again. "Well, his dad _did _go to Wutai for some business thing, right? Maybe the people said something. Where I'm being brought up isn't exactly a secret in Wutai." She nodded. "Yeah, it makes sense! The old bastard would want to have control over Wutai, and since he can hardly bring in armies and force surrender, he'd want to do it through marriage!" Yuffie shuddered at the thought. "Now _Rufus Shinra _is gonna be after me? Ew, just, _ew._"

Cid laughed at his surrogate daughter's discomfort. "Why so grumpy? He's powerful, rich, and a handsome kinda guy. All the other girls like him. What's so bad about the guy? Pass me that doohickey over there, would ya?"

The young princess tossed the 'doohickey' over to the mechanic, even as she groaned exasperatedly. "He's just so _boring! _I wouldn't be able to have _any _fun with a guy like him! He'd pack me off to etiquette school, and I'd have to be a _lady_ in public and stuff! And he's got that whole 'I'm Rufus Shinra, the most powerful man in the world' thing going on. Ha! More like the most cocky, pompous _ass _in the world!" She sighed. "He's just...not my type, okay?"

Cid straightened up from the now-finished rocket. "Well, sorry to leave ya like this, but I gotta be goin'. Don't worry about Shinra, a' right? Just tell him you ain't interested. He's a big boy, he can handle it."

Yuffie looked up thankfully at her adoptive father. "Yeah, thanks, old man," she said, smiling teasingly.

He threw a light punch at her, which she dodged easily. "Not fuckin' old! Now help me load this shit onto Aura!"

She laughed lightheartedly, any dark thoughts banished. "Yes, sir!"

* * *

Aura, their trusty, carefully bred golden chocobo, trotted off merrily down the path with Cid astride her, drawing behind them a cartload of machinery, warking happily. It wasn't until an hour into the trip that Cid scratched his head and pulled her to a stop.

"Should be there by now..." he mumbled, checking his map again. "Huh...maybe we missed that turn..." He looked up to find a fork in the road. "Ah, fuck." Cid examined the two roads, trying to decide which one to take. After a while, he chose the left, solely based on the fact that there were less leaves on the ground. "Giddy-up, Aura," he coaxed the chocobo forward. He peered around, looking for signs of anything familiar. Aura kweh-ed nervously.

Lightning flashed. Thunder boomed. The gold chocobo panicked and threw its rider off, dashing back the way she'd come at high speed.

"Fuck! Aura, hey, wai - aw, sunnava..." he cursed under his breath as rain started pelting down. Cid sighed and looked around. Something in the woods howled. He gulped and started walking forward quickly.

After a few minutes, he saw a large mansion up ahead of him. The mechanic sighed in relief and ran towards it, shoving open the door, not bothering to wonder why it was unlocked.

He was met with complete silence. "Uh, hello?" he called. No one answered. "Well, uh, sorry 'bout bustin' in like this, but, uh, there's a storm and stuff and, uh..." he trailed off. "Oh, fuck it," Cid muttered under his breath and made his way through the mansion.

"Whose idea was it to leave the door unlocked?" There was an angry whisper from behind him. He spun around, finding no one.

"Shh! He'll hear you!" Another whisper. Cid's eyes whipped around frantically.

There was a sigh. "Too late for that. Hey, mister, over here!" the disembodied voice called out.

Cid looked around, finding nothing but a few candelabras sitting on a table. He grabbed one of them and looked around. "Where the hell are ya?"

"Over here!" From behind him? He spun around. "Where?!"

Someone tapped his hand. He stared at the candlestick. It was _grinning _at him. "Hi!"

Needless to say, he dropped the candle.

It (he?) hit the ground with an indignant squawk. "Ow! What the hell was that for?!"

Cid stared at it. It was a normal looking candelabrum. The metal it was made of was black, which was a little unusual, but it didn't explain the talking. Or the face that was scowling up at him from the center candlestick. The flames also burned black, and not like normal flames, but like a sparkler, shooting out in different directions. Nothing that couldn't be accomplished without the proper combination of chemicals. But the _face? _And the _talking? _

A quiet chuckle came from the table. Cid spun around and stared. The two other candelabra were laughing. One of them was made of gold, its flame the same color, also shooting outward. The other was silver, flame and material both. However, this one's flame burned normally, despite its abnormal color.

It was this one that spoke. "Very gracefully done, as always." The deep baritone was dripping with sarcasm.

The black candle on the ground glared petulantly. "So says you, Mr. I-Left-The-Fucking-Door-Open-But-I'm-Much-Too-Awesome-To-Admit-It. Do you have _any _idea what he's gonna do when he finds out?" This made the silver candle's smug expression to falter slightly.

The gold candle addressed Cid. "Just ignore them. And try to block out the craziness of all this. It's probably not every day you see a bunch of talking candlesticks, right?"

Cid walked over to the table, still slightly awed. "Uh, yeah?"

The candle smiled. "You want to sit down, dry off or something?"

This caused the other two to stop bickering and react violently. "No!"

Gold (Cid started calling them by color in his head) glared at the two of them. "Hey, he's already here, we're already screwed, and _he,_" he nodded upward, "is already going to kill us. We might as well be nice in the last moments of out lives." Gold smiled at Cid. "So, dry off?"

The mechanic nodded, dumbfounded. Silver and Gold both hopped off the table and led him toward a room off to the side. Cid began to follow -

- only to be hit, _hard_, in the back of the head. The last things he saw before blacking out were furious golden eyes and huge, leathery wings.

* * *

Cid woke up, groaning. He looked around.

He'd been locked in a small, stone cell. There were no windows, only a door with a small, barred opening at the bottom. He made his way towards it, hoping to find a way out.

He cocked his head. Was that...? Cid frowned in concentration and listened hard. Yes, there were sounds of arguing from somewhere nearby!

"He was cold! Besides, we've been stuck here for _thirty years! _It's about time you _did_ something!" That sounded like Gold.

There was a feral snarl, then a new voice, deep and menacing. "That is _not _for you to decide! And I must do _nothing. _The terms were that it would start wilting when someone _visited_. Nothing was said about prisoners."

"So you're just going to let him _die _in there? Is that it?" Black's voice this time.

The unfamiliar voice spoke again, though it was much tenser this time. "He will be...provided for." The words sounded like they were forced.

"You would let an innocent man die to save yourself." It was Silver.

There was no answer. Nothing else could be heard.

Cid lay down in the pile of hay in the corner of his cell, fear racing through his veins. It seemed like the man...or perhaps the demon, he thought, remembering the golden eyes and wings...was going to let him rot. For the first time since childhood, Cid clasped his hands together and prayed for a miracle to save him from death.

* * *

Up in the highest room of the mansion, where no one was watching, a bright red rose floated underneath a glass dome. A single petal drooped lower, then, almost as if through water, gently fluttered and sank to the table.

And so the first petal fell.

* * *

Well, there it is. The first chapter. Yay. The next one won't be out for a while, due to the crazy evilness of Asian mothers. You might have heard stories about it, but honestly, you have _no idea._

**Review for pudding! It has magical healing properties!**

* * *


	3. Ahead On Our Way

**Chapter 2**

President Shinra led his son Rufus and four Turks confidently towards the Highwind/Kisaragi residence. People had gathered in the small courtyard area in front of the house already. Sobbing young girls could be heard, lamenting the fact that it was not them that had been chosen as the young Shinra's bride. Still, the merry mood of the men and their wives was enough to overcome the fangirls' depression. Everyone (save the fangirls) was happy that the young vice president had found someone for him.

Said young vice president did not share their enthusiasm.

"Father, I really don't think -"

"Nonsense! Any girl you proposed to would instantly accept. We must hold the wedding immediately."

Rufus Shinra never dared to openly glare at his father, but he stared at him with the calmest and most blank expression he could manage while putting as much loathing and disgust in his gaze as possible. "I am flattered by your faith in my charm, however misguided it may be, but I must say -"

"Misguided?" The older Shinra spun around and grabbed his son by the collar of his dress shirt. "My faith is not _misguided, _boy! I raised you to do anything for this company! And now, you will propose to this girl and become the future ruler of Wutai! And _you will not fail me. _Do I make myself clear, boy?"

There was a long silence. The Turks behind them, all friends of Rufus, tensed. If it came to a father-son fight, none of them could know which side to take.

Rufus's previous expression of loathing was now completely resigned, and, the Turks were shocked to notice, fearful. "I understand, Father."

President Shinra released his son. "Good. Now hurry. The guests are waiting." He strode into the courtyard to be met by happy cheers, raising his hands for silence.

"My friends, I thank you all for coming to my son's wedding. Truly, I have never been -"

Rufus stood by the Turks, all of them tuning out the long-winded speech.

"You still have to propose, right?" Elena whispered to him.

A nod and a roll of his eyes.

"Isn't it bad luck to see the bride before the wedding?" Reno teased.

Rude disguised his chuckle as a soft cough. Tseng rolled his eyes. "Perhaps, in this case, bad luck is exactly what we want, is it not?" he asked under his breath.

Rufus smirked. "Maybe so."

* * *

Yuffie looked up, startled, at a knock on the door. No one ever came to visit, and Cid would be gone for at least a few days. She tiptoed to peek through the cat's eye in the door, only to look away and groan softly at the sight of Rufus Shinra. For a brief moment, she considered sneaking out the back, but, against her better judgment, she found herself opening the door to admit him.

She did her best to put on a surprised smile. "Oh, hey! Uh, what brings you here, Rufus?" She ushered him inside cautiously. "Um, would you like some tea?"

Rufus smiled, but the motion seemed strained. "No, thank you. I'd rather make this quick."

Yuffie put down the teapot and cocked an eyebrow. "So...you wanted to see me...why?"

He got straight to the point. "Yuffie Kisaragi, will you marry me?"

Her answer was equally blunt. "No."

The young man smiled, but the expression was only surface-deep. "Please reconsider. It would be best if you'd just accept my proposal happily. There would be much less complication that way."

Yuffie laughed, staring at him incredulously. "What kind of argument is _that?_" She frowned at the lack of response.

Rufus still wore the same, seemingly composed smile, but she could tell that his emotions were in turmoil. Beneath the calm, cocky mask, there was a vast sea of resentment, pain, and fear, though toward whom or what, she didn't know.

When she next spoke, her tone was kinder, sympathetic. "Rufus, I can't say yes because I don't _know _you. Not at all. I'd have to know you to love you, and I'd have to love you to marry you. But I don't, and I can't. Alright?"

Emotions escalated, desperation leaking into the mix ever so slightly. "Please, Yuffie, you _must _trust me when I say that it would be best for the both of us if you were to accept. You would link my company and your country in a firm alliance, and my fa -" He cut off suddenly, looking flustered. After several moments of grasping at words, he finished pathetically with, "Please."

Yuffie gritted her teeth in fury. She was pretty sure that the ShinRa heir had been about to say "_father_". So _he _was the bastard behind all this! Just as she'd thought! "Rufus, I'm not going to marry you. I don't _want _to marry you, and I'm pretty sure I don't _deserve _to marry you either. Just as you don't deserve to be bossed around by your dumbass of an old man. And if he tries to do _anything _to you for _my _choice, just give me a call." She smirked. "The bastard won't be able to do jack shit with me on his ass!"

Rufus's breath caught. He stared at her in shock. For one, he'd never heard that many expletives uttered by a female in a single response, other than from Elena. Secondly, and most importantly, _she knew. _Maybe not in detail, but she knew _something. _And she was willing to help, something that even the Turks would not do. "You'd...help me?" he finally choked out.

She grinned. "Sure! You're a lot nicer when you're not trying to be an arrogant asshole. We can be friends, right?"

Rufus stared, still shocked. He'd always taken the Wutain girl at face value, seeing her happy, carefree attitude and assuming that she was a complete bimbo. But now...he could see the young woman that would be queen of Wutai. He nodded slowly. "But...what now?"

Yuffie smirked mischievously. "I'm going to kick you out of my house, and you are going to act as though you have been vehemently rejected."

The young vice president barely had time to register her words before she yanked the door open, shoved him out and down the patio stairs, and slammed it behind him.

Needless to say, he didn't have to fake looking scandalized. Staring back at the house with an expression of shock came easily enough. Still, as the Turks rushed forward and escorted him back towards home, his mind was abuzz. A friend. He'd made a real, honest-to-god friend. Even as his father glared at him, his expression promising severe punishment, Rufus was able to smile.

* * *

Yuffie peeked out the door. "Okay, coast clear!" she called to no one in particular. She sat on the patio stairs with a sigh. For a while, she did nothing but pluck grass and play with the dandelions. When she spoke, her voice was tired and drained, but still furious.

"I can't _believe _that old man. How could he...that total...AGH..." she yelled, frustrated. "Why _me? _It's not like I _want _to be princess of Wutai. I'd much rather be a ninja or something. Some kind of job that lets me go out and kick ass." She smiled at the thought. "Maybe a Turk like my cousin. Ha! That'd be a laugh. Why can't _he _rule Wutai anyway? All this crap about direct heirs...jeez, give a girl a break, would ya? Maybe if they went back to the whole male dominance idea, I wouldn't have to go through all this." Another sigh. "That _stupid _son of a _bitch _old Shinra! I swear to god, if I ever get the chance, I'll stab his eyes out and -"

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a loud "WARK!" She jolted up and looked down the road. "Aura?" Yuffie ran to the frightened chocobo. "Hey, steady, Aura, steady..." she spoke soothingly. Then she looked around and frowned. "Aura, where's the old man?" He was no where to be found. Traces of panic found their way into her voice. "Where's Cid, Aura? C'mon, we have to find him!" She quickly unhitched the cart and threw on her cloak. Climbing onto the steed, she urged her forward. "Go, Aura, take me to him!" The golden chocobo dashed down the road.

An hour or so later, they came to the gate of a large mansion. Aura kweh-d anxiously struggled against the reins. Yuffie slid off. "Shh...steady..." Pushing the gate open, she spotted an abandoned stable. After letting Aura settle in comfortably among the hay and greens, she made her way to the door.

* * *

"I can't _believe _him. He can't be _that _much of a heartless bastard! Can he?"

The silver candle, known as none other than Sephiroth, looked up at the black candle, Zack, who was currently shuffling back and forth across the table. "He can."

"Ugh, you're not helping! This is all your fault anyway. You just _had _to leave the door unlocked, didn't you?"

Sephiroth glared. "Perhaps if _you'd_ kept quiet, he'd have left."

Cloud, the golden candle, jolted up. "Shh! I think I heard something!"

Sure enough, from a nearby door into the main hall, a feminine voice called, "Hey, old man? Where are you? Anyone here?"

Quick as a flash, the three candlesticks raced to the door and peered around the edge.

Zack stared. "It's a _girl!_"

Sephiroth rolled his eyes. "Oh, how could we possibly survive without your superior observation skills?"

Gold shushed both of them. However, Zack was far too excited. "Don't you get it? She could be the one! She could break the spell!" And with that, he bounced as fast as he could down the hall.

* * *

Yuffie caught the glow of candlelight going down the stairs to the basement. "H-hey, wait! I'm looking for a guy that came here about a day ago, could you help me?" She dashed after it.

She frowned at the source of the light, a black candelabrum with a sparkler-like flame. "Where...?"

"Who's there?"

Yuffie jolted at the sound of a weak voice. Then her eyes widened. "Oh my god, Cid!" She ran for the nearest cell.

"Yuffie? How'd ya get here?"

The young princess grabbed his outstretched hand. "I'll explain later. We've got to get you out of here." She looked around quickly for something she could use to break down the door or pick the lock.

"No, kid, you get the hell out now, ya hear?" The mechanic's voice was alarmingly weak.

Yuffie shook her head angrily. "I'm not leaving you here!"

"Can't explain, you just get -"

A loud snarl came from the doorway. The light from the torches was extinguished, leaving the room in darkness, save the small glow of the candle in the stairway. Yuffie looked around frantically. "W-who's there?"

"You trespassed here. You have no right to ask questions." The voice was a low, menacing growl.

She took a deep breath, trying to keep her voice steady. "Please, let this man go."

Her eyes found two points of glowing gold in the darkness. They narrowed like eyes. "He's a prisoner here."

"B-but he needs some food or water or _something! _He could die here!"

The golden eyes bored into her. "Then he should not have come. He stays until he either escapes or dies. I rather doubt the chances of escaping."

Yuffie pleaded. "Please, let him go, I'll do anything!"

The voice seemed amused by this. "What could you possibly do?"

Yuffie blurted something out frantically. "I-I'll take his place!"

There was silence. The voice seemed to compose itself. "You'd have to stay for the rest of your life. Would you do that for him?"

She frowned. Something was definitely off about this situation. "Who _are _you? Come out and let me see you!" she demanded.

There was a long silence. After a moment or two, the candlelight descended down the stairs. The black candelabrum she'd seen earlier hopped into view, but Yuffie was too occupied with the creature before her to notice.

The figure was humanoid enough, but the skin of the face was a cold, icy color. Atop the head were several large, blood red and black spikes that jutted out in a twisted imitation of a crown. A crimson bandana wrapped around the base of these, holding back what would have been hair. The figure was dressed all in black, though the left hand was replaced with a gold, metallic claw, the feet similarly clad. Two huge, bat-like wings, crimson and black in color, spread from the back, folding to resemble a sort of cape. The glowing gold eyes she'd seen earlier gazed down at her blankly, the irises filling up the whole eye, the pupils snake-like. Humanoid it may have been, but there was no mistaking this creature for a human.

Yuffie instinctively shrunk back. Cid gripped her hand to comfort her, whispering harsh warnings to her, ordering her not to go through with it.

She ignored these and stood up as regally and confidently as she could, fighting to keep her voice steady. "You have my word."

"Done." There was no time to reconsider, no small hesitation. As soon as she spoke the words, the answer had been there. The demon strode past her as she stood there, frozen in shock, and unlocked the cell. Cid was upon her in an instant.

"Ya can't fuckin' do this! Ya got a country to rule, remember? Just - AGH!" Before Yuffie could speak a word to argue back, he'd been dragged away. She stared after him, still shocked stiff. What had just happened?

It all hit her then. She'd given up her freedom. She'd never blow stuff up with Cid, never stare in awe at the legendary swords at Zangan's shop, never tease the fangirls for their misguided attempts for Rufus Shinra's attention, never laugh inanely at Cid's obsession with tea, never roll her eyes at the idiot politicians that thought of her as a child, never rule Wutai like she was meant to, never follow her own dreams of adventure and excitement. She'd never leave this mansion again.

Tears had begun even before she collapsed into a sobbing heap.

* * *

"Dammit, let me go, ya fuckin' bastard!" Cid struggled futilely against the demon's unbreakable hold. "Don't -"

His protests were cut off as he was thrown into a carriage, the door slamming behind him. The demon glared at him through the window. "The girl is out of your hands."

"Like hell she is! Let me -!"

"Take him back to Nibelheim." The carriage sped away, leaving the raging mechanic to stare after the demon as he stalked back inside.

* * *

"Ahem."

The demon snarled at the trio of candlesticks. "What?" he snapped.

Zack did the candlestick approximation of shuffling his feet nervously. "Well, the girl, she's gonna be here a while, so, um..." He glanced at Cloud pleadingly.

He took the hint. "We -" Sephiroth glared, "fine, _I _thought it would be nice if you maybe gave her a better place to sleep than the dungeon."

The demon made no response except to stalk away, grabbing him to light the way.

The other two stared after them. "That...could have gone better..." Zack mumbled.

* * *

The demon heard the sound of soft crying as he approached the dungeon. Yuffie had curled up in the corner, sobbing drily.

A small stab of sympathy flashed across his expression before he could control it. Gold gave him a meaningful glance. He sighed.

"Come this way."

She jerked up. "What?"

"Would you like to sleep on a bed tonight, or do you prefer to stay in the dungeon?" She made no response. "This way." Without waiting for an answer, he turned and started back up the stairs. Moments later, Yuffie scrambled to follow.

* * *

The more she saw of the mansion, the more Yuffie wanted to dash out the door. Dark, heavy curtains had been drawn over all the windows; there was almost no light, save that of the candles. A large, ornate chandelier hung over the entrance hall, but the candlelight cast eerie shadows over it, making it seem like a huge, golden trap, waiting to fall. Cobwebs hung in corners, and dust coated everything. Portraits, faded with age, lined the walls, their eyes seeming to follow her everywhere.

The demon led her up the main staircase, past a bureau that was centered oddly at the top of the stairs. She caught her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were red from the tears, her expression exhausted and mournful. Everything seemed so different from yesterday. She quickly averted her eyes and quickened her pace to catch up.

Cloud glared at the demon, one eyebrow raised, gesturing as much as he could without drawing attention. "Well? Say something!" he whispered harshly.

The demon stiffened. His mind raced to think of something to say. "I...hope you enjoy your stay," he managed to force out. The candle nudged him on. "Since this is your home now, you may go anywhere you like. Except for the northeastern-most room."

Yuffie looked up, confused. "What's in the -?"

"That is not your concern." The sudden venom in the demon's voice surprised her. The rest of the walk was in silence.

Finally, the demon stopped and opened a door. The room was furnished nicely. A tall, ebony wardrobe stood in the corner, its contours elegantly curved. In the middle was a large, queen-sized canopy bed. All in all, it looked far more comfortable than the dungeon.

"If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask. The other residents will take care of you." Cloud elbowed him in the side of the head. "Dinner is in an hour."

She turned away. "I-I'm not hungry."

Golden eyes narrowed angrily. "You _will _be there," he growled.

Yuffie spun around to protest. The door slammed shut. Fresh, angry tears began to fall.

* * *

After a few minutes, a knock roused Yuffie from her misery. "Who is it?"

The answering voice was feminine and compassionate. "It's Shera, dear." The door was pushed open of its own accord, but no one came in. Several clinks came from below her vision, and she looked down. Her eyes widened in shock.

A teapot sat at her feet, made of plain, unadorned white ceramic. A simple, brown wooden handle curved elegantly the side opposite the spout, which was currently turned toward her. Warm, hazel eyes gazed up at her from over the spout, lips turned up in a small smile. A teacup with a pink handle clinked forward, and the teapot leaned over it, pouring some of the warm drink into it. "Tea, dearest?" she asked kindly.

Yuffie slowly backed away, and, in doing so, she crashed into the large ebony wardrobe, which shifted aside and pushed her forward lightly. She spun around.

"Hey, be careful there! You could hurt yourself!" Mahogany eyes peered down at her from above the wardrobe's doors.

She jolted backwards again, sinking weakly to the floor. "What...? This is..."

The wardrobe chuckled. "Trust me, you have _no _idea. Imagine just minding your own business, trying to help out a friend, and maybe get a shot at a cute blonde when _this _happens." One of the doors gestured around vaguely. "But here we are. The world is a truly messed up place."

Yuffie took a few deep breaths, trying to regain her senses. After a moment, she began to ask, "How did this all -?"

"I'm Tifa, by the way. What's your name?" Her kind smile was the tiniest bit more strained than before.

"I'm Yuffie." Something small and warm jabbed her leg. She looked down and spotted a small white teacup with a pink handle, filled to the brim with tea. The teacup smiled shyly. "I'm Marlene! And that's Denzel!" Marlene turned back towards the door, gesturing at another teacup, but with a blue handle, hiding behind Shera. Her motions caused some of the tea to slosh over the sides.

Shera frowned sternly. "Now, Marlene, don't spill. And Yuffie, drink your tea, dear!"

Yuffie smiled slightly and sipped the warm liquid. Suddenly, she was reminded of home. Fresh tears welled up in her eyes, and she turned away, embarrassed.

The enchanted furniture watched with sympathy. "You were very brave," Shera consoled.

Tifa nodded. "We all think so," she affirmed kindly.

Yuffie sniffed. "But...everyone...I'll never..." She choked back sobs.

Shera smiled warmly. "Don't worry. Everything will turn out alright." She gestured for Marlene to follow her. "Sorry, but I'm going to have to leave you now. I can't have that idiot stove burning dinner!" She winked cheerily before clinking out the door, the two teacups trailing behind her.

The young princess stiffened at the mention of the meal. She was going to save her protests for later, perhaps to scream them at that demon, but a black candelabrum chose that moment to hop through the door. "Dinner's rea -"

"I'm not going." The words were firm, authoritative, icy, the same tone she used with the idiot nobles that had coddled her like a child, forgetting that _she _was in charge. It was calm, collected, but she might as well have screamed bloody death threats at the top of her lungs. No one argued with that tone. Not even Zack, idiot though he sometimes could be. This time, he wisely shut up and scuttled back out the door.

* * *

Much could be said of the demon's self-restraint. Upon receiving the news, he did _not _rage aimlessly and start smashing things. Instead, he calmly picked up all three candles and glided noiselessly to Yuffie's door, where he dropped said candles and knocked quietly.

The door was yanked open, revealing a very angry ninja. Two seconds later, it slammed shut. "What?" she snapped.

"Come to dinner," he responded with equal vehemence.

"I'm staying _right here_, and there's nothing you can do about it."

Cloud gently elbowed his ankles. "Be _nice!_"

The demon glared, but composed himself. "Please, you must eat."

"I can starve."

What little patience he'd had left ran out. "You can't stay in there forever."

"Try me."

Nothing was said for a few minutes, each waiting for the other's resolve to break. Then the demon turned swiftly on his heel. "Fine. Starve. See if I care." Crimson wings spread and took flight.

Yuffie stood for a long time, staring at the door in shock. At the sound of a slamming door somewhere down the hall, her glare returned, and she started throwing furious kicks at the bedpost.

Tifa tried to calm her. "He's not really that bad! He just...hasn't had much contact over the years! His social skills need a little brushing up. Before all this happened, he was one of the nicest people you'd ever meet! He's really a wonderful person once you give him a chance!"

The young princess lashed out at the bedpost one last time before collapsing onto the mattress, still glaring at the doorway. "He's used all his chances. He can go burn in hell for all I care."

The wardrobe made one last-ditch effort. "Come on; just get to know him a little!"

Yuffie didn't even move. "I _do not _want to get to know him. He's not worth knowing."

* * *

Deep underground, as the demon watched this in rage and agony, a petal drooped ever so slightly before breaking away from the crimson blossom, fluttering down to meet the surface of the table.

And so the second petal fell.

* * *

**A/N: Oh, my god, I'm _so _sorry for the delay in updating! And now I've come back only to give you a crappy chapter. This one was really hard to force out. And it _wouldn't end! _I really, really hated it, but these are pretty much mandatory plot events, so I couldn't skip it...**

**And so, we have the identities of our candlestick trio (as if I didn't make that obvious enough from the beginning)! Tifa is that wardrobe, and Shera is the teapot (kinda obvious why). Next chapter, we'll be meeting many other characters/furniture/household items! I'm going to have _so _much fun with this next one! It'll probably take a while though. It will undoubtedly be my favorite chapter; therefore, I'm going to want it _perfect_. So just hang tight! Once again I'm really sorry, and I'll try to have the next chapter out as soon as I can.**

**Lots of love!**

**_If you don't review, I swear to god, I'll kill someone...perhaps Genesis would like to go first..._**


	4. Many Meetings

**Chapter 3  
**_Many Meetings…_

The Turks were feared by nearly every sensible person in the civilized world. The sight of the Turk uniform was enough to ward away every living, thinking creature in an 11.57-foot diameter. (Reno had once exaggerated it to be 20; Elena insisted that it couldn't be that much over 10. Of _course _Reno had bet on it.) They were stealthy, calculating, efficient, cold-blooded killers; they were loyal to none but the president and vice president of ShinRa; if they were on your tail, they would never stop hunting you until you were dead. This was the image painted of the so-called ShinRa Department of Administrative Research, and it was this image that even the president believed.

Of course, those who actually knew the Turks (which, outside of the organization itself, included only Rufus Shinra) knew that while cold-bloodedness was part of the job description, stealth, calculation, and efficiency were traits imparted on only half the Turk population, and that the only reason the other half had made it was because they were really good at blowing shit up. (There was a reason the Turks worked in pre-picked-out pairs, after all.) People that knew the Turks knew that the uniform was only for show, and that certain Turks preferred to have on no clothes at all. People that knew the Turks knew that while they were chosen for their exceptional skills in espionage and assassination, the best Turks were all plum-fucking-nuts. In fact, they were arguably the most plum-fucking-nuts group of creatures ever to walk the face of Gaia.

However, despite all the flaws in the organization, no one, not even those that knew them, could doubt their loyalty. So when president and vice president, father and son, decide to verbally duke it out behind closed doors, it left the Turks in a mess.

Elena, being Elena, was the most visibly anxious. "What do we do, what do we do, what do we do…" she muttered over and over, pacing back and forth across their 105.14 square feet of cleared area in their corner of the tavern.

Tseng was a patient man (he had to be, with the job he had), but, as with all patient men, there was an end to his patience. "Elena, stop. Your incessant worrying will do nothing."

"Yeah, 'lena!" called Reno loudly and drunkenly. "Relax, yo!" Reno was actually just as anxious as his female compatriot, but showed it only by downing copious amounts of beer.

Elena worshipped Tseng's advice and considered his orders the will of God, but any word from Reno, a drunken Reno especially, was the spawn of the devil and therefore negated the effect of the previous. So, instead of calming down, she decided to find a more constructive outlet for her anxiety. Namely, abusing aforementioned red-headed Turk. "I don't see why you're even _in _this organization! Can you do anything _but _relax?"

"I sure can beat _your_ ass, yo!"

"Oh, it is so on, you brainless little –"

Tseng sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. He was _very _tempted to follow Reno's example and start drowning himself in liquor. Rude looked up from the hole he was burning in a table with his eyes to glance at the two "blow-shit-up" members of the team. Finding Reno in a headlock, courtesy of Elena, he grunted once and looked back down.

Yes, a Shinra family feud left the Turks in a big mess.

VYVYVYVYVYVYVYVYVYVYVYVYVY

Meanwhile, as the Turks alternated between brooding and brawling, the young company heir sat as still as he could while his physician finished splinting his wrist.

"Now, how did you say this happened again, young master?" The doctor prodded the limb experimentally a few times."There was ice on the porch steps," Rufus lied without missing a beat. "I lost my footing and slipped."

The doctor frowned skeptically, but shrugged it off. "If you say so, young master. You'll want to take it easy with that arm for a while. Don't swing it around too much, don't put pressure on it, and _do _be careful on those porch steps of yours."

Rufus gave him a charming smile and nodded as he muttered his thanks and swept out the door, but instead of heading into town toward his own home, he turned toward the lone house on the outskirts.

The door swung open with a bang before he even knocked, and he looked up into the angry face of Cid Highwind.

"Shinra? The hell're you –?"

"Where's Yuffie?"

The pilot glared at him suspiciously. "Why'd _you _wanna know anyway? Not still tryin' to hook up with 'er, are ya?"

Rufus shook his head. "She and I, we have a…mutual agreement. Could I…speak with her, perhaps?"

Cid glared again and stomped back inside. "I'd let ya, if she wasn't locked up by some crazy demon! Get in here and have a fuckin' cup o' tea!"

The man, Rufus thought, was surely delusional. What was that nonsense about a demon? But he took his seat at the table and politely accepted the steaming cup.

The pilot said nothing for a long while, accept to mutter angrily under his breath, stomping around the kitchen and yanking open cupboards. When, at last, he had shattered his fourth teacup, the vice president felt it would be best to speak.

"So, where is Yuffie? You mentioned a…demon?"

Far from calming the man, the question seemed to further incite his anger. He slammed a drawer of knives shut, making the cutlery rattle. "Yeah, that's what I said. This crazy guy with bat-wings locked 'er up!"

Well, that clarified nothing. Rufus tried his best to calm him down.

"Mr. Highwind–"

He snorted. "Just call me Cid. Mr. Highwind makes me sound old."

Rufus nodded and continued. "Yes, well, Cid, I think you'd best start from the beginning."

So he did. The young heir listened with apprehension as the pilot explained his wrong turn into the woods, the mansion, the talking candlesticks, and the demon, then with horror as he described his captivity and Yuffie's sacrifice. But he wasn't surprised. It _did _sound like Yuffie to give her freedom for someone else's.

"We've got to free her," he insisted, already formulating insane plans in his head.

"What, just you an' me?" Cid scoffed. "Can't see you pullin' off any heroics, what with that arm o' yours. What happened to it anyway?"

"I fell," Rufus explained dismissively. "Either way, we've got to do _something. _I'll go ask Tseng. He'll be able to come up with something." With that, he stood up and headed out the door, towards the tavern.

_Please, be alright, Yuffie, _he thought to himself. Please, _be alright…_

VYVYVYVYVYVYVYVYVYVYVYVYVY

Yuffie, being Yuffie, had taken quite some time to calm down. The furniture appeared to be fast asleep, judged by how the wardrobe was hunched over and murmuring quietly.

She had gotten some good reading time in (finally, a book that was interesting) when the footstool started growling loudly in its sleep. "Well," she muttered, "that's different."

Yuffie quietly stood up and made her way to the door. She had no delusions of escape. Some steak knife could see her and report to the demon. But she _could _leave her room. If she was going to live here for the rest of her life, she'd at least get to know the place. And the furniture. Plus, she _really_ wanted to find a quiet place to read.

Outside stood three candles. She silently cursed. Great. How was she supposed to get out now?

"Hey!"

The princess looked down to find the black candle staring up at her with a grin. She smiled back tentatively. "Uh, hey yourself…"

"You should probably eat something, you know?" Yuffie was about to protest when he interrupted her. "No, I mean…well, _he's _not around right now, and there's a nice dinner downstairs, and we would really, _really _love if you didn't starve to death because we're not actually mean people or anything, we're actually really nice, even _he's _really nice when he tries, but he just pretends to be really mean 'cause he's got weird antisocial issues and–" he paused to take a deep breath. "Could you come eat, please?" He smiled hopefully.

Yuffie sighed. They really were nice furniture-people. "Fine," she grumbled.

"Yay!" The candle bounded over to his other two compatriots. "To the kitchen! Forward, march!" He hopped onward as Yuffie followed bemusedly.

The gold candle rolled his eyes. "Don't worry about him. He's always like that." He smiled politely. "I'm Cloud, by the way. That idiot over there is Zack. This is Sephiroth." He nodded to the silver candle beside him.

Yuffie laughed, impressed. "Wow, that's cool. You guys have the same names as the heroes of Nibelheim."

Cloud and Sephiroth exchanged glances. "Um, what?"

She jumped at a chance to display her new knowledge. "You know: when Nibelheim was almost overrun by armies from the north, the three heroes warded them off all on their own and forced their surrender."

Zack snorted derisively. "Where'd you get _that?_ Seph's diary?"

Sephiroth glared. "It is a _traveling log_, Zackary."

Yuffie finally caught on. Her eyes widened in awe. "Holy shit, you guys _are _the heroes of Nibelheim!"

Zack cut off his argument to grin at her and bow. "At your service, ma'am!"

She laughed, but then frowned in confusion. "Um…then, uh…" She struggled for a respectful way to phrase her question and gestured vaguely in their direction. "Um…what happened?"

The three candles frowned at each other grimly. Zack was the first to pipe up. "_Loooong _story there. Definitely not one to tell in the middle of the hallway!" And with that, he hopped onward.

Yuffie followed and laughed as Zack and Cloud recounted the _real _story of the Nibelheim battle (who knew that an irritable dragon could cause so much damage?), but her thoughts were elsewhere. All the living furniture in the mansion was human at some point. Had the demon, then, also been human? Was he really not a demon at all? And, if so, how had he become the way he was?

What had happened here?

VYVYVYVYVYVYVYVYVYVYVYVYVY

"Holy shit, how do you guys make so much food?!"

The long dining table was creaking with the weight of the dishes it bore; there was food from every corner of the Planet, from the greasy, deep-fried fast food of Midgar to the spicy, exotic tastes of Wutai. Every course was laid out on the table, from simple, tasty appetizers to elaborate entrees to towering cakes and succulent desserts. The warm aromas mingled in the air and made Yuffie's mouth water. She ran to the table and vaulted into the purple armchair at the head of the table, but instantly jumped back up when it started gasping for breath.

_"Please_, young lady!" it wheezed. "Sit down _gently!_"

Yuffie muttered a shocked apology and turned to find another chair, but it called after her, "Now, I didn't say you couldn't sit! But please, don't tackle me now."

The princess sat slowly. "Better?"

The armchair nodded, which felt odd, as she was sitting in it. "Allow me to introduce myself. Reeve Tuesti, at your service, young lady."

She grinned. "Yuffie Kisaragi. Nice to meetcha!"

The three candlesticks vaulted themselves onto the table. Sephiroth instantly took charge, ordering a groggy knife and spork awake for her use. The spork nodded and hopped her way, the knife following slowly, grumbling about lost beauty sleep.

Eating with them was awkward at first, since Yuffie didn't want to grip them around their faces, but eventually, she found a good finger arrangement and began to devour food ravenously, making conversation with her utensils and chair between gulps.

The spork had introduced himself to be Angeal Hewley. He didn't talk too much, and she didn't listen that much anyway, but she did pick up the word "honor" more than once.

The knife, after running out of complaints about being woken up, introduced himself as Genesis Rhapsodos. He was a very flamboyant fellow, flirting with anyone within earshot and making dirty double entendres that he and Yuffie both laughed at.

Reeve, the armchair, turned out to be a very level-headed person with a strong sense of compassion for others. He shared his sympathy more than once for her captivity and insisted that she call on him should there be anything she needed.

All the while, as the plates moved themselves around based on what she asked to sample, furniture would walk, hop, or shuffle by before going about on their business, Cloud and Zack introducing them as they passed.

"The stove is Barret; he used to be a terrible cook, but he's had plenty of time to improve."

"That footstool's from your room. He's Nanaki, or Red XIII, he responds to both."

"That annoying black and white cushion with the Northern accent is Cait Sith. He's one of Reeve's pets, just ignore him."

"You've already met Shera and the kids, Marlene and Denzel, of course."

"Those silver feather dusters over there are Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz. Their Seph's fan boys, so don't listen to anything they say."

"There's Kunsel, that hat stand."

"That blue vase is Luxiere. Can't even move, poor guy."

"There's Tifa; you've met her before too."

And so on, and so on until Yuffie met just about every piece of furniture in the mansion.

Finally, when she was full to bursting, the dishes whisked themselves into the tub, Reeve sleepily bade her farewell, all the furniture settled in their respective nooks for sleep, and Zack snored loudly as Cloud and Sephiroth engaged in a heated make-out session in the corner (disturbing, but strangely alluring), Yuffie yawned and headed back for her room.

VYVYVYVYVYVYVYVYVYVYVYVYVY

And promptly got lost.

"Crap," she muttered to herself as she found herself trying to choose between two hallways at the top of the stairs. She sighed, shutting her eyes and spinning around, randomly heading down the right hallway.

She found a window and peered out, trying to see the stars. "Northeast," she determined.

The demon's words came back to her with a jolt. _Anywhere except the northeastern-most room…_

Of course, that which killed the cat decided to rear its head fiercely. What was he hiding? Maybe the secret to the enchantment on the mansion was in there!

But even as her curiosity raged, she remembered fierce golden eyes, wicked claws, and huge, bat-like wings, and shuddered. Was it really worth going in there where _that _could be lurking?

Suddenly, unbidden, an image leapt into her mind: Cid Highwind, usually so proud and lively, shivering, sick, _dying_, and it steeled her resolve. She would _not _let him scare her into doing what she wanted. The Great Ninja Yuffie followed no orders!

With that thought, she slowly pushed open the door.

Her first impression was one of darkness. Though the hall was lit by sleeping candles, this room was lit only by the stars and the moon, which was hidden by a cloud outside the only window. As her eyes adjusted, she noticed the lack of furniture; the room was empty except for a nightstand by the window, a chair in the corner, and a bed against the wall.

It was to this bed that her eyes were drawn, not because of its elaborate canopy and shiny satin sheets, but because of the figure lying in it.

The demon was slightly curled on one side, facing the single window, wings spread out behind him. His face, which she had only seen contorted in silent rage, was now calm and peaceful in sleep. Without thinking, she drew closer.

At that moment, the cloud drew back, and the moonlight illuminated the demon's figure. Yuffie suddenly realized that if you looked past the twisted red spikes atop his head, the wicked claws, the crimson wings, and the cold, eerie tinge to his skin, the demon was almost…_beautiful._

A soft, red glow came from the nightstand, and she whipped toward it. When she saw where it came from, she gasped.

A rose, fully bloomed, hovered over the nightstand under a glass dome. Its delicate petals glowed and shimmered in the moonlight, and she drew towards it as if in a trance. Not thinking about why or of any repercussions, she reached out to lift the glass dome.

What happened next happened in a blur. Her fingers had barely brushed the cold glass when there was a flurry of movement behind her and metallic claws gripped her wrists and yanked her away.

"What are you doing in here?" the demon growled. "I told you not to come here."

Yuffie's gentle thoughts were washed away in a sudden torrent of fury. "Why shouldn't I be in here? I was curious! I've got every right to be wherever I want in this place!" She sat down on the nightstand and folded her arms to make her point.

He growled fiercely. "Do _not _touch that."

She glared with equal ferocity. "What? Don't touch this?" She defiantly reached for the rose again.

Claws gripped her bare forearm tightly and jerked her away again, slicing through the skin and leaving shallow, bleeding cuts. Yuffie yanked her arm out of his grasp and inspected the wounds, not seeing the shock that flashed across the demons face as he stared at his hands, as if appalled that they could do such a thing. When she looked back at him, she was too furious to even consider his expression.

"Fuck you and fuck my promise!" she yelled. "I'm leaving!"

Yuffie tore out of the room, down the stairs, past three shocked candelabra, and out the door, into the cold, never hearing the apology that was called after her.

VYVYVYVYVYVYVYVYVYVYVYVYVY

As the demon stared after the princess in shock, a petal from the rose broke off, fluttering in a nonexistent wind as it fell slowly to the table's surface.

And so the third petal fell.

* * *

OMG, I AM ALIVE!

I am _so _sorry to all you people who are actually still reading this! I can't believe I made you all wait so long! But there was school, then there was school musical that I had to play in the pit orchestra for (which was, ironically, Beauty and the Beast), then there was summer and California, and there was Kyou Kara Maou, and I _had _to write something for that, and then there was summer school, then there was more school, and then there were these OMGAMAZING people who somehow found this story and reviewed and inspired me again! Many thanks to mallorymallibu of for bugging me and extracting a promise to have this up by Labor Day, and SO much love to SketchprinterDemon of for her beautiful, beautiful picture for this story! I have fanart! (Link on my profile!)

Lots and lots and LOTS of love!


	5. A Changing Situation

**Chapter 4  
_A Changing Situation..._**

The Nibelheim tavern usually bolted its doors at midnight sharp; lingering patrons would be booted out into the night, and anyone unlucky enough to be looking for lodgings at the time would be firmly turned away. But the tavern's profits were fueled by the local gossip, so whenever anything big happened in town, the innkeepers threw open the doors and welcomed the whole town for an all-night rumor exchange, complete with large discounts on alcohol. And, as Yuffie Kisaragi's rejection of Rufus Shinra was bigger than anything to happen since the doctor's wife's descent into madness nearly thirty years back, the windows of the tavern were blazing with light, and the sound of loud, enthusiastic chatter could be heard, even in the god-forsaken hours of the early morning.

Rufus had, very discreetly, slipped in through the back door, knowing that if he entered through the front, everyone would attempt to console him over his "loss". Dodging people with lowered eyes, he snuck over to the Turks' corner and explained the situation.

Reactions were less than favorable.

"Sir," Tseng began awkwardly,"…you must admit that Highwind's tale seems…well, to be blunt, sir, it's quite ludicrous."

"Yeah, and this is _Highwind_ we're talking about, yo!" Reno chipped in loudly. Rude stamped on his foot and he lowered his voice. "Not a totally reliable source, is he?"

"I know, I _know!_" the vice president hissed through gritted teeth. "But–and don't ask me why, because I don't know either–somehow, I believe him. It…it sounds like something she would do."

Tseng, knowing his cousin, secretly agreed, but objected anyway. "That may be true, sir, but–"

"Either way, whether Cid's story is true or not, Yuffie is missing," Rufus quickly interrupted. "She's not in her house: I've checked. No person in their right mind is going to be on the mountain path at this hour; they'd be slaughtered by wolves. She's nowhere in town; people would have seen her by now. The last time anyone saw her was when she threw me out of her house. That was more than twenty hours ago! Isn't that enough of a cause for concern?"

The Turks exchanged weary expressions, simultaneously coming to the same conclusion. Their leader sighed and spoke. "Very well, sir. We'll search the mountain area, but it will have to wait until morning. As you said, the wolves are ferocious this time of night." He glanced outside. "Winds are picking up, sir. You'd best hurry back quickly, or you'll be caught in a blizzard."

Rufus nodded, barely concealing his gratitude. "Thank you." With that, he crept slowly out the window and headed toward his house.

Elena bit her lip worriedly. "Do you think the boss is alright?"

"Don't worry about him, 'lena!" Reno answered. "He's probably got a reason for wanting to help out Highwind, yo! Still, I think that old pilot's lost it this–"

"Ah, what's the man done this time?" The Turks all looked up at the arrival of the senior Shinra, followed by a handful of interested townspeople. "Come now!" he said at their stony expressions. "This ought to be a good story!"

Lying wasn't an option. "Miss Kisaragi is missing," Tseng explained, "and the pilot has come up with a rather…odd tale to explain her disappearance."

The roomful of people had gone uncharacteristically quiet with anticipation. Turks didn't usually contribute their findings to the town gossip, but when they did, the stories were guaranteed to fuel the rumor mill for a month, at the very least.

Tseng shifted uncomfortably. "He…apparently mentioned her being imprisoned by a demon."

There was a moment of bewildered silence before the crowd guffawed loudly, jeers and catcalls breaking out amongst them.

"That man with his rockets, what did you expect?"

"Always knew the man was a nut."

"All that tea's getting to him at last!"

The beginnings of dread began to settle in the Turks' minds as they saw President Shinra's expression. It was the frown he wore when he started plotting, and plotting always, without exception, meant trouble.

It only took a few moments for his plan to formulate. He stood and raised a hand for attention.

"The man _is _crazy, isn't he?" the president asked quietly, almost conversationally.

The crowd muttered their agreement.

The president frowned as if deep in thought. "Why, I can just barely remember the last time something like this happened! That was rather dreadful, wasn't it?"

A people broke in to hushed whispers as they recalled the incident.

"Burns all over her hands!"

"Hearing voices in her head!"

"Tried to kill her own _husband!_"

The president lifted a hand again. "Ah, yes. The old doctor's wife started hearing voices soon after her marriage. She then tried to kill her husband by burning the house down with some spare candlesticks!" He paused to let the story sink in, once again frowning in mock cogitation. "Well, she _heard _demons of some kind or another. Wait, but…Highwind is _seeing _his demons. I wonder what he'll do."

There were a few moments of horrified silence as the people took in his statement. A voice at the back of the crowd spoke up. "But we locked up Old Lucy, didn't we? So why not lock up the old pilot? That way we'll all be safe!"

The crowd cheered, clearly enthused by this plan of action. Shinra once again lifted a hand. "An excellent plan, my good man! I'm certain that a few days alone and a few draughts from the doctor will clear him right up! Why, we ought to go now!"

Raucous cheers erupted, and people started flooding out the door. After they were all gone, the president smirked, his plan accomplished. "Now," he said to the Turks, "Miss Kisaragi will not let her guardian be locked away so easily. I'm certain she'll accept Rufus's proposal when we present _this _as incentive." He strode out after the mob into the blistering cold.

Sitting alone in the abandoned tavern, the Turks exchanged looks of dread.

* * *

Yuffie coaxed Aura through the driving snow. "C'mon, girl!" she urged. "You can do this! It's not all that far!" She peered down the snowed-over path. There was no one following them, yet the mansion was still just barely in sight. They had made very little time. "C'mon, Aura!" she pleaded to the chocobo, who was still trying its best to trudge through the thick snow. "Run on _top_ of the snow!You're the best gold chocobo _ever! _I know you can do it!"

The chocobo seemed encouraged by her words because it put on a sudden burst of speed and started to run, feet barely skimming the surface of the snow. Yuffie crowed in triumph. "Yes!" she cried. "Go Aura! That's the way you–!"

Aura suddenly jerked to a stop, head erect, listening for a sound the young princess had missed. "What is it, girl?" she asked. Then, she saw them.

A huge pack of Nibel wolves had prowled out of the trees and were blocking their path, their teeth bared and snarling. Yuffie's hand tightened on the reins, and Aura, taking that as a signal, turned around and shot in the other direction, leading the howling and snapping wolves with them. However, instead of heading back to the mansion, she rushed straight up the near mountain path.

Yuffie heaved a sigh of relief when the howls faded behind them. "Thank Gaia," she breathed, only to be jerked to a halt again. She stared in horror before her. The wolves hadn't fallen behind. They'd called for reinforcements. They were being ambushed from both sides by two separate packs of snarling, hungry canines.

Frantically, Yuffie grabbed a handful of rocks from the side of the mountain and chunked a large one at the nearest beast, hitting it straight between the eyes. "Ha! Take that!" she jeered.

Far from scaring the wolves away, as was intended, it only seemed to rile them further. They snapped their wicked jaws, prowling ever closer.

Yuffie took a step back. And another. And another.

Rocks crumbled beneath her feet. A chunk broke off the ledge. Her next step met open air.

And she was falling.

_I'm going to die. _Strange how calm she felt as the jagged rocks rushed toward her. In fact, this was probably better. Better to die free than live caged and all that. Yuffie closed her eyes.

And suddenly, she was rushing upward instead of downwards, arms held her to a warm body, and wings beat on either side of her. She registered the face of her rescuer in shock and squirmed in his hold. "Let go of me!"

The demon growled warningly and tightened his grasp. "Don't struggle. We're quite far up."

"Put me down!" she yelled. The demon sighed at this, but acquiesced, setting her down on a flat ledge. He watched passively as she steadied herself and caught her bearings. No doubt she was trying not to go into shock.

Finally, she acknowledged him, in her usual vehement manner. "Coming to take me back?" she snapped.

"Only if you want to."

Yuffie started at the demon's softly spoken answer. "Since when has _my _opinion mattered on _anything?_" she glowered.

He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a loud screech above them. The princess' head jerked up in horror. "Aura!" she cried.

The chocobo was pecking furiously at nearby wolves. However, the creatures would simply dodge her futile attacks and snap at her exposed legs. Several bite marks were visible, all of them bleeding profusely.

Yuffie searched in vain for a way up the mountain. "Aura! Hold on, girl, I'm coming!"

The demon stared at her incredulously. "You very nearly died at the hand of those wolves, and now you are running back into danger to save your chocobo." He shook his head in disbelief.

"Shut up!" she shouted. "I've had her since she was a baby! I'm not going to let her die!" She gripped the mountain face and tried to climb up, cursing vehemently when she fell.

The demon continued to watch her clumsy attempts to scale the mountainside, admiring her near-delusional determination. How odd she was, this girl that he was supposed to love. And how odd that, even though they never shared a single tender moment, this girl had managed to find a way into a heart that he'd thought was long broken.

He nodded imperceptibly to himself, knowing what to do.

Yuffie screeched as arms wrapped around her and she was swept into the air. "What are you _doing_?" she yelled as she twisted in the demon's grip.

He gave her no answer except to set her down higher up on the path. "Stay here," he commanded before flying away.

The ninja scowled at being ordered around. "Hey, I'm talking to you! Where're you–?" The rest of her sentence died in her throat, and her eyes widened in disbelief as she saw him dive into the pack of wolves and tear into the nearest one with his claws.

He was…saving Aura? For her?

The demon saw the chocobo leap past the wolves and dash towards Yuffie, and he breathed a sigh of relief when the pack didn't follow it. The wolves' hungry eyes were turned on him. They'd found a new target. He took a deep breath and braced himself.

They lunged.

* * *

Cid heard the mob long before they reached his door. He groaned. What was it this time? He'd just gotten back, so it couldn't be a noise complaint. Maybe someone found the wreck of one of the earlier rocket attempts in a field or something. With an annoyed sigh, he got up and opened the door.

To his surprise, the Turks stood at the head of the party. The loud redhead, the sunglasses guy, and what's-her-name seemed to be trying to restrain the mob. The leader stood at the door.

The pilot scowled. "What's all this shit about?"

Tseng looked uncomfortable. "Mr. Highwind," he muttered. "By majority vote of the town's citizens, you are to be taken in."

"Taken in?" Cid roared. "Where the fuck are you takin' me in?"

The Turk grimaced. "The asylum."

The pilot glared incredulously. "The fuck for? I ain't crazy!"

"You were saying stuff about demons!" yelled a person in the crowd.

He turned in their direction. "That was fuckin' real! The winged fucker has Yuffie!"

The mob jeered, and he only got more animated. "I'm telling you! Huge wings and these yellow eyes with these wicked fuckin' claws! And the fucking talkin' candles were real too!"

The crowd roared with laughter. Tseng put a hand on the pilot's shoulder. "Just go along with it. It'll be easier for everyone."

"The hell!" Cid spat. "I ain't goin' along with anythin'!" He moved to turn back into the house, but Tseng grabbed his arm and twisted it behind him, guiding him firmly towards a waiting carriage.

The pilot struggled in vain; the Turk had too strong a grip. "Fuck! Let go o' me!" he roared, but Tseng only met his eyes sadly. Then, for the second time in so many hours, he was thrown into a carriage, and the door slammed behind him.

* * *

Rufus watched the mob in horror from his bedroom window. There was no doubt in his mind as to who was behind it.

The front door opened.

_Father._

Without a second thought, he dashed down the stairs and shouted, "What the _fuck _did you just do?!"

The Turks stared at him in shock. The president seemed nothing but calm. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me!" Rufus hissed. "You started that mob to get the pilot locked up! Why?!"

Shinra the elder narrowed his eyes. "Don't question my reasons, _boy,_" he spat. "I'm doing all this for _you!_"

Comprehension dawned, and it served to make him all the more furious. "You think _this _is going to make Yuffie marry me?" he shouted disbelievingly. The triumphant expression on the old man's face made the answer apparent. "I don't _want _to marry her! And she sure as hell isn't going to marry me!"

The president glared. "You _will _marry her, and she _will _marry you, and that is _final_!" he roared.

"I won't," Rufus hissed defiantly, "and you can't make me."

A sharp blow struck him on the side of his head, and he fell to the ground with a cry. His father loomed over him. "I can't make you, is it? Can't I, boy? _Can't I?_" He planted a foot on his son's already-broken wrist, making him writhe in pain. Elena let out an involuntary gasp.

The president was jerked back to reason, seeming to suddenly remember his audience. He shot a glare at the Turks. "Leave us," he spat.

They did, forcing themselves to look straight ahead so not to see the betrayal in their young master's eyes.

* * *

Pawed feet scattering…

Warm blood flowing…

Cold snow covering…

Panicked voice calling…

Endless darkness surrounding…

* * *

"Hey."

He frowned. Who was that? The voice sounded familiar. And worried. He didn't want this person to be worried.

"Hey, wake up!"

A female voice. A name flashed across his mind, accompanied by the usual racking sorrow.

"Huh?"

Had he spoken out loud? It wasn't her. Then who? And why did she sound relieved?

"Wake up, you!"

The demon dragged himself back into consciousness. A pair of chocolate brown eyes hovered in his vision.

"Finally!" the voice said exasperatedly. "Gaia, I thought you'd gone and croaked!"

He blinked. His bedroom swam into view.

Yuffie stood before him, hands on her hips, a smug grin on her face.

He tried sitting up, only to collapse again. His chest felt like it was torn to pieces. "What…happened?"

She scowled, but there was no venom in the expression. "_I'll _tell you what happened. You went and got yourself torn to pieces by those rabid mutts! I had to drag your sorry ass back down here!" She started pacing around the room, gesticulating wildly. "You were bleeding _everywhere_, and there was this _gigantic _hole in your chest, but before I could do anything, it just closed itself right up! Does that come with being a weird winged-fanged-whatever-the-hell-you-are? Don't answer that question! But you were unconscious for _hours_, and it's almost noon, and everyone thought you were gonna _die!_" The ninja heaved in a huge breath before turning back to face him. "Anyway, you're not moving anywhere for at least another week, demonic healing powers or not."

The demon glared. "I am _fine_. And you have no right to order me about my own home."

He expected her to go off on him like she usually did, but instead, Yuffie just rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. You owe me big time, mister, so you are going to do what I say."

He frowned incredulously. "I _owe _you? This would never have happened if you had not run away."

She scowled back. "And _I _wouldn't have run away if _you_ hadn't fucking attacked me!"

"I specifically told you never to go in my room."

"Well, if you weren't such a secretive ass and actually gave me a reason for all the shit you put me through, maybe I'd be more compliant!"

The demon fell silent, and Yuffie smirked, sensing her victory. "Shera and the cups will be up with some tea and breakfast in a bit, and I'm sitting right here," she said, plopping herself down on the footstool, "to make sure you don't move."

They sat in silence, but the ninja kept shifting around. There was something she had to say. She was royal blood. She had _manners_. She _had _to say it, for honor's sake. If she didn't, she _knew _it would bother her for the rest of her life. _Oh, to hell with it_, she thought. If she was going to destroy her dignity, she might as well do it with some pride.

"By the way," she muttered awkwardly, staring down at a particularly nasty bloodstain on the carpet, "I…never thanked you."

The demon blinked. "For…?"

The princess managed to wrench her eyes away from the floor and angle her face in his direction, though she still didn't meet his gaze. "You…saved Aura. And you saved my life. So…" She fidgeted uncomfortably. "Well, thanks," she blurted out hurriedly before looking away and staring firmly back down at the carpet, blushing furiously. Thankfully, the demon said nothing.

* * *

Shera, mounted on Nanaki, whose back was laden with plates of eggs and bacon, peeked into the room to find a rather awkward scene. Yuffie seemed to be attempting to burn away a bloodstain on the carpet with her gaze while the demon seemed to be finding the plain black of his canopy very interesting. Each was very pointedly avoiding the other's gaze. The teapot and footstool shared knowing grins. It was progress.

"Brunch, dears!" she piped (no pun intended). The two seemed extremely relieved at her presence. Yuffie leaped up and carried the demon his tray of breakfast, setting it down on his lap. "Eat," she commanded firmly. She then turned to Shera. "Make sure he doesn't try to go anywhere."

The teapot nodded and winked. "Will do, Miss Kisaragi." She glanced at Nanaki out of the corner of her eye and saw a matching expression of inner SQUEE.

The ninja nodded and started to make her way out of the room. _Damn, I'm tired, _she thought, fighting back yawns. Staying up all night probably wasn't the best idea. She probably looked like shit about now, what with tromping through snow and cleaning up blood. She needed some _sleep_.

"Yuffie."

She spun around, thoughts of slumber forgotten. "Huh?"

The demon kept his eyes firmly on his breakfast but managed to speak. "I never thanked you either," he murmured.

The princess blinked. "For…?"

He sighed. "You saved my life as well. So thank you."

Yuffie involuntarily smiled. "Heh, that's the first time you've said my name." Why did it feel so warm when he said it?

The demon blinked, thinking back. "So it is," he said.

"I don't suppose _you _have a name," she prodded. "I can't just keep calling you 'you', you know."

Shera and Nanaki glanced at each other with panicked eyes. Wrong question, wrong question, wrong question!

He remained silent. After a few moments, Yuffie shrugged. "I'll check back on you later," she muttered before leaving the room. She hadn't expected much anyway.

When she was halfway down the hall, she heard someone call after her. She whirled around and dashed back into the room. "Huh?"

The demon met her gaze this time, something of sadness and something of hope in his eyes. "Vincent."

The ninja blinked in confusion. "Huh?" she repeated.

The corner of his lips barely twitched. "My name. Vincent Valentine."

Comprehension dawned, and Yuffie grinned. "Well, nice to meet you, Vincent Valentine."

* * *

The candlestick trio hopped along beside her.

"How is he?" Cloud asked anxiously.

She grinned down at him. "He's fine."

Zack bounced forward as quickly as he could. "Did he say anything?"

Yuffie looked away, trying not to blush. "Well…uh…he told me his name was Vincent. That's pretty much the only important thing." She walked on. "So I'm thinking that since I'll have to stick around a little longer, I'm going to need some–" She paused. The candles had fallen several meters behind. "Uh…guys?"

The three stared at her with wide eyes. Cloud spoke up first. "He…told you his name?"

The princess blinked. "Um…yeah." She looked around at their surprised expressions. "Is that bad?"

"_Bad?_" said Zack, a goofy grin on his face. "It's great! It's the best news we've gotten since we heard that the old bitch got locked up!"

Yuffie cocked her head, confusion growing. "Why's it such a good thing that I know his name?"

Sephiroth answered. "He hasn't used his name in thirty years." The former hero seemed rather mystified.

She stared incredulously. "_Why?_"

The three candelabra exchanged glances. All three of them nodded and made to go into a side room. Cloud gestured for her to follow. "Come in and sit down. It's kind of a long story."

* * *

"I don't really know a lot about Vincent from before we met him," Cloud began uncomfortably. "His mother died in childbirth, and his father was really strict and never let him into town. Shera, she works here, so he grew up with just her really." He bit his lip, unsure where to go from there. "Well…his dad worked for ShinRa, so the Northerners killed him in their invasion. Vincent joined up to fight after that, and that's how we met him. He had to be the best shot in the army, that's for sure. He was great with spontaneous planning too. That thing with the dragon was his idea." Everyone shared a grin at the memory of the story. "Yeah, he got to know the mountains really well. They were, like, his only source of entertainment outside his house." Cloud paused and glanced at the other two for help. Zack took over.

"So, we had just won the Northern War, right? So we invited all our pals for a night on the town. Vincent was pretty overwhelmed. He was really different back then. I mean, he wasn't exactly talkative, but he did strike up conversations now and again, right? And he was _really_ nice too, like helping-every-old-lady-on-our-path-pick-up-groceries kinda nice. He got to the tavern, and he was like a fish outta water. I don't think he'd ever seen so many people in one place, like, _ever_." The black candlestick sighed. "So, we had to get him somewhere else, 'cause he was kinda subtly freaking out in the corner, so we took him to the library, which was definitely more his thing. Big reader, Vincent is. So he was going through it and picking out books and stuff when he bumps into _her_."

Yuffie blinked, surprised at the sudden vehemence in the normally-cheerful Zack's voice. The other two candlesticks wore similar expressions. "Who?" she asked.

Sephiroth spoke up. "A girl. They struck up a conversation over a book and became friends almost immediately." He shook his head. "To shorten things, he fell madly in love with her. He courted her for several months. Since, obviously, money was of no shortage, he bought her everything she could have wanted." He narrowed his eyes. "Evidently, it wasn't enough."

The princess frowned, absorbed in the story. "Whaddya mean?"

It was Zack who burst out angrily. "The _bitch _was already engaged the whole fucking time!"

Yuffie's eyes went wide as saucers. "And she never told him?" The dark expressions of the candelabra were the only answer she needed. A pang of sympathy shot through her. "How did he find out?"

"He proposed to her."

The ninja turned to Cloud in shock. "No!"

He nodded grimly. "Then she had the balls to invite him to the wedding."

She gasped angrily. "How could she _do _that? Did she _know _he loved her?"

Sephiroth chuckled coldly. "Did she know? He told her every day. She never told him a thing." He sighed. "Naturally, he was heartbroken."

"Heartbroken's an _understatement_, man," Zack said, eyes sad from the memory. "He was, like…_dead._" He shook his head. "She held the wedding outside in the courtyard. She probably felt _guilty_," he spat. "So we gathered all his buddies, all the guys he knew from the army and his friends from the town and then some, to try and make him feel better. Throw him a sorta party, right?" The candlestick shrugged. "So by a weird turn of events, we all ended up like this."

Yuffie narrowed her eyes, suspicion setting in. "_What _weird turn of events? You never told me how this all happened."

The three candelabra exchanged glances again, this time shaking their heads. "You'd better ask Vincent about that if you want to know," Cloud sighed. "It'd be a little…um…awkward…if we told you."

She sighed in annoyance but said nothing, giving the far wall a look that could kill.

Zack, unsurprisingly, was the first to break the silence. "But…this is good, you see? Way back when this all first happened, he made everyone stop using his name because he said it reminded him of the past. Of _her._" He frowned briefly, but when he continued, it was as animated as usual. "But he told _you _his name. He's using it again, which means he's getting over it! And you're helping him!" The black candle grinned with his signature cheerfulness.

Sephiroth smirked. "It would seem so, yes."

"We can't thank you enough," said Cloud.

Yuffie blinked. "Thank me? For what?"

The gold candle smiled. "He's our friend. You're helping him. A lot, in fact." He shrugged. "That deserves thanks, I think."

The princess fidgeted uncomfortably but smiled back. After a few moments, she muttered something about sleep and left the room.

The candlestick trio met eyes and grinned. Finally, some hope.

* * *

Up in the demon's room, while the candles rejoiced, while the teapot and footstool watched faithfully, and while the princess slept soundly, a petal of the rose fluttered slowly down to add to a growing stack on the table.

And so the fourth petal fell.

* * *

_Vincent Valentine speaking. Erava is currently digging for fireworks under the bed, so she is rather unavailable to post this chapter. Therefore, she appointed, read: forced, me to post this for her. She gave me a long, sob-filled author's note to insert here, which I will attempt to shorten, as it is difficult to type with one hand._

_She expresses deep apologies to someone named NeroGravity, to whom she apparently promised an update a week earlier._

_She said something about dedicating the chapter, but I find it unnecessary. If I must, I suppose that all who read this get their fair share of dedication._

_There was a rather long bit that included something about "loving you people so goddamn much" and "you all are the most awesome readers ever if you're still following this", but it was all rather repetitive. Needless to say, she adores the lot of you, though I am rather confused as to why, seeing as she has never met any of you._

_She wishes everyone a Happy New Year and expresses hopes that it will be better than the last. That is all._

_Also, she demands reviews and offers muffins to all who comply. To those who do not comply, she threatens to send Sephiroth's body parts, though I'm not sure where she would get them. Also, it would no doubt only encourage you people._


End file.
